Past Musings

Each day children climb on school buses in America and head to school. They are greeted at the door by a well-educated professional whom is licensed to teach. The child feels relatively safe in the classroom and has confidence in the education that is being provided. Most parents assuredly send their child to school without worry. Each and every child, at least in the last 60 years, is guaranteed an education regardless of race, poverty , or social status. The first ever public school was Boston Latin School. It was founded in 1635 by Puritan settlers. This was over a hundred years before the founding of The United States. It’s evident that education is a privilege that our founders wanted for all its free citizens. I make the distinction of free because at this time in American history slaves were not allowed to attend school.

Today in America we take for granted the idea that an education is as available as the air we breath. We take for granted that gaining an education is as simple as climbing on a yellow purveyor of children. We take for granted that it will always be attainable. Gaining an education is a right that we as Americans are guaranteed. However in other parts of the world the right to attend school is not assured . I remember several years ago a gentleman whom was former military spoke about how he watched kids in other countries walk miles sometimes barefoot to get to the nearest school. The idea of a bus safely transporting them was not even a possibility. He spoke about how young girls could be raped or kidnapped on the way to school but still took the risk to gain access to an education. An education is a powerful tool to have. It allows a person to explore different possibilities and opportunities. Ignorance is not bliss and whoever came up with that term was sadly mistaken. To be ignorant is a sad existence that allows others whom are better educated or savvier to take advantage. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, slaves were not allowed the opportunity to learn. The masters believed that an educated slave was a dangerous slave. Furthermore, education is empowering and allows one to think in multiple dimensions and not just one. If a slave was found reading or writing, he or she was either immediately sold off or worse. However, slaves would still risk obtaining these skills because they understood the power and value of these gifts.

It’s because of the struggle of others to obtain an education that we as a nation should embrace the opportunity for a fair, free, and appropriate education. It may not be fair or appropriate in all parts of the United States due to issues far too numerous for this short read, but we at least have the opportunity to receive an education if wanted. We need to remember, as stated in the previous paragraph, that we are fortunate to have such ready access to knowledge. Immigrants that come from other countries that stifle or prevent the opportunity for an education understand the idea of a free education very well. This is why they excel at every opportunity in the American educational system because they comprehend what it means not to have instruction. In closing, I will state we as American citizens need to take advantage of our education system. Public schools have existed in this country for over 380 years and have been fairly successful in producing productive citizens. Yes we have issues with the system but at least the opportunity to earn a diploma is there.